Training with 5 Elements

The yoga teacher training at 5 Elements was one of the best experiences of my life. Michelle’s studio came to feel like my second home. Not only do I feel prepared to teach yoga, I feel more prepared to journey through the rest of my life. The course gave a great foundation of knowledge and experience, but the best thing was that it gave me the tools to discover my own unique path and approach to yoga. It encouraged each of us to put heart and creativity into our practice and into our lives. Michelle has all the humility and genuine caring of a truly great spiritual teacher, and I’m honored to have been a part of her class." Sasha Vivelo, RYT (Waterloo, ON)

Are you ready to take the next step & evolve your understanding & practice of yoga?Explore and develop your passion for yoga with us!!
We are a "Certified Private Educational Institute" with the Government of Canada which means that your tuition (& books) are tax deductible!

Core Curriculum


5 Elements Yoga Teacher Training
The comprehensive yoga teacher training offered at 5 Elements focuses on Vinyasa Flow Yoga as the basis of teaching styles, but also prepares the graduate to teach "Hatha" Yoga. Vinyasa means "intelligent sequencing" or "to place in a special way", referring to the linking of the movement and breath and the sequencing methodology, including teaching in stages (kramas). "Vinyasa Flow" yoga is a creative, fluid style of yoga which allows for freedom of expression by the teacher. The teacher taps into the "flow" within him/her to teach from a place of personal practice, passion and intuition.
The course is approved by the Internationally-recognized Yoga Alliance, which means that the graduate will automatically be eligible for RYT200 registration with this standardizing organization. For more info on the Yoga Alliance, please visit: www.yogaalliance.org.

Course Curriculum
The Physiology of Yoga
Anatomy & Physiology & Its Application to Yoga

  • movement principles and inner wisdom of the body

  • the bodily systems & their relative pathologies, including:feeling the body (sensation) from the inside out

  • skeletal & muscular - including the theory of compression & tension

  • nervous, endocrine, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive and immune/lymphatic systems - including the inner wisdom of the body

  • preventing yoga injuries…pain vs. discomfort & contraindications

  • health conditions & therapeutic application of poses

Hatha Yoga (sun/moon)

  • in-depth analysis of most common asanas (yoga postures)

  • several variations of surya namaskar (sun salutations)

  • benefits to asanas…physical, mental, esoteric

  • variations and modifications for essential asanas

  • hands-on assists & adjusts

Pranic/Energetic Anatomy and Ayurveda

  • Energy lines and energy centres/chakras, nadis, marma points (yogic equivalent to acupuncture/acupressure points)

  • 5 Tattwas (elements), Prana Vayus (vital airs/winds) and the 5 Maya Koshas (layers/sheaths of the self)

  • Reading energy in students...cultivating intuition as a Yoga Teacher

  • Exercises/practices to deepen & internalize our pranic/energetic anatomy

  • Controlling energy - use of bandhas, mudras (sacred symbols), pranayama and kriyas

Pranayama

  • The science and anatomy of breath

  • Linking the movement with the breath, riding the breath

  • Breath as "guru"

  • Practice pranayama (breathing exercises) and how to link with the asanas

  • Teaching pranayama

The Philosophy of Yoga
The foundations of yoga philosophy - ancient texts including a basic overview of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

  • Yamas (restraints) and Niyamas (observances)

  • Ethics in yogic philosophy

  • Professional ethics in business, teaching and life

  • How to run a successful yoga business, the "business of yoga" and marketing

  • Yogic lifestyle - yoga as a way of life (it's not a religion) and embodying the flow

Chanting & Nada Yoga (Yoga of Sound)

  • Vibration of energy and sound

  • Verbal & non-verbal chanting

  • Linking chanting with asanas & breath

  • Power of mantras

  • Specific mantras for yoga teachers

  • Voice - Modulation, Intonation, Projection and Emphasis

Basic Sanskrit

  • Understand the key Sanskrit words used in yoga…the language of yoga

  • Translation of names of over 100 yogasanas (postures) and yogic concepts

  • Energetic & vibrational qualities of Sanskrit

The Psychology of Yoga
Teaching Methodology

  • The art of teaching: qualities, presence, energy, intention

  • The role of a good teacher, how to instruct and develop confidence

  • Communication skills, presentation skills and public speaking

  • Utilizing themes in class

  • Group dynamics vs. individual sessions

  • Sequencing and class design

  • Understanding various styles of yoga and how to develop your own yoga teacing style

  • Utilize various props - blankets, bolsters, blocks & straps

  • Playing the "edges"

  • In-depth coverage of hand-on assists and personalized therapeutic elements derived from Thai Yoga Massage and other forms of bodywork, as well as "verbal adjustments"

  • Understand the basics of how to incorporate pregnant and postnatal students into your regular classes

"When you study under Michelle, you leave the studio inspired. You have the feeling like you have just sat at the feet of someone truly amazing, but you never once feel intimidated or lesser than. If anything, you suddenly feel like you're pretty amazing too.
Michelle has a way of conveying her passions to you in this wonderful maternal way . . . and as the training progresses you realize more and more how she is a mother to you. Knowing that I had six hours of driving each trip and a long list of future hotel bills, Michelle went out of her way to help me out. She even let me sleep in the studio! It was around this time that it became clear to me that Michelle's motive in teaching yoga is pure. She really cares about helping people and she is passionate about the true goal of yoga. She wants you to come to a place where you know who you really are.
She made me feel at home, but like any good mother she pushed me. She made me find my edge physically and then helped me understand what it was that I was feeling. In short, she helped me "get it". Studying under her was truly a life changing experience. Anyone could have taught me how to do yoga . . . but Michelle taught me how to be yoga."
Stefani Hoyt M.S., RYT (Sarnia, ON)

Details

Course Fees
The cost of the training is $2,960 plus hst. A deposit of $500 is required to secure your spot. The balance is payable on or before the first day of class. The price also includes the manual, exam, certificate and valuable, personalized, caring guidance (either by phone or email) with your teacher. Please note that the course fees, as with all our fees, are non-refundable and non-transferable. We are a Private Educational School and the Course Fees are tax deductible.

Registration & Requirements 

To register for the course, please complete answers to the following questions (click link below):

1. Why do I want to become a Yoga Teacher?
2. How will my yoga students benefit from me as their Teacher?
3. What background experience do I have with yoga?
4. What am I committed to? What's my passion?
5. What do I hope to gain from this course?

During the course there will be a considerable amount of yoga practice, as well as an expectation of developing your own personal yoga practice (sadhana), so the sooner you start practicing… the better. You will also be expected to complete your homework assignments, including journaling your sadhana experiences and completion of book reports.
Once your application has been accepted, payment for the balance will be required a minimum of two weeks prior to the start of the course. As with all of our class fees, the Teacher Training Fees (including the deposit) are non-refundable and non-transferable.


Reading List
The required and recommended reading list will be sent to you once we have received and accepted your application.


Any Questions Whatsoever???
Please contact the Director of Education, Michelle Cormack, if you have any questions: michelle@5elementsyoga.com
 
Definition of a "Teacher":

The work of a teacher-fulfilling, exhausting, complex, idiosyncratic-never twice the same is at its heart, an intellectual, ethical and spiritual enterprise. Teaching is the vocation of vocations, teaching others to be healthy, and to open their hearts through sadhana is being wise beyond wisdom. It is a calling that shepherds a multitude of other callings. It is an activity in sadhana that is intensely practical and yet transcendent, brutally matter-of-fact, and yet fundamentally a noble and creative act. Teaching begins in challenge and is never far from mystery, it is rooted in the ancient foundation of the spirit of the Guru -when recognized becomes manifested within your physical body/mind - ready and capable to come to your aid when you call upon it!


(adapted from words of William Ayres)